Mah had previously been the member of Parliment for Teluk Intan after winning the seat in the 1999 and 2004 general elections.Losing by a whisker of 238 votes in her election debut will not signal the end of Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud's politcal career.
Speaking to about 200 dejected supporters gathered at the party
operations centre in the Perak town, she said this is not the last time
they will hear of her.

"This is not the end of Dyana Sofya. The people of Teluk Intan just knew
me for two weeks, but gave me 19,919 votes. I will not let you down,"
said the calm-looking DAP candidate clad in a purple baju kurung and
black scarf.

The 27-year-old politician said that her struggle is not to win a MP seat but for a greater purpose.

"We need to put a stop to racial politics. I am not only contesting against Mah (Siew Keong), but the whole machinery (of BN).

"Mah only won by (about) 200 votes," she said.

Tears flow at operations centre

She also said that although she was defeated, she will continue to contribute to Teluk Intan.
"Don't be disappointed, be with me and continue the fight, I invite all of you to join us in the fight," she said.

Though she appeared calm, there was a moment when she paused appearing
to keep her composure in check, when thanking the supporters and
campaign team.

She
was accompanied by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general Lim
Guan Eng and other DAP leaders who came to thank supporters.

The atmosphere was sombre at the operations centre, with many supporters seen shedding tears and hugging each other in dismay.The announcement of the official result was delayed by more than an
hour as the initial counting of votes concluded just before 8.30pm that
BN had won by the same majority.
The DAP initially said they might consider asking for a recount due to the very low majority.
The party’s election strategist Dr Ong Kian Ming at that time said it
was up to the party leaders to decide whether to concede defeat.
"We are disappointed with the results, but I think we knew it would be a
tough fight right from the beginning," Ong told The Malaysian Insider
at the DAP's operation centre in Teluk Intan.
"I think Dyana is a candidate who fought well and represented herself
well. So I hope that this can represent the spirit of the party moving
forward even though we have a temporary setback."
Dyana told the sombre crowd outside the operation centre that the battle was not over.
"Honestly, I am disappointed I was unable to defend the Teluk Intan seat. But this is not the end of Dyana.
"I will not let you down. I will still stay here and I shall focus on the rakyat of Teluk Intan."She said they were up against the entire BN machinery yet lost by only about 200 votes. - mk/tmi

Delving into DAP's shock defeat...

Euphoria during the campaign period has now turned to shock over Dyana
Sofya Mohd Daud's defeat in the Teluk Intan by-election for DAP
supporters.

But there were several factors building up to her defeat, chief among
them being disinterested outstation voters as the contest had no bearing
on the balance of power.

BN's triumph over Dyana was spectacular.

Just
this morning, Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong did not appear confident
of his chances, with his aide lashing out at journalists for reporting
Mah's remark urging the people of Teluk Intan not to allow outstation
voters to decide the town's fate.

However, Mah got his wish when what started as a strong turnout this
morning eventually dwindled, with only a total of 67.4 percent of voters
casting their ballots when polls closed at 5pm.

This was in contrast to the 80.4 percent turnout in the 13th general election.

Outstation voters failed to deliverOutstation voters, largely youth and urbanites, who are the core support base for DAP, had failed to deliver.

In the absence of this, DAP could only fall back on their usual Chinese
electorate, but most of them residing in the semi-rural constituency of
Teluk Intan are older conservative voters, and they too did not deliver.

An example that fits this demography perfectly is Kampung Batu 12, a
Chinese new village which DAP won by 68.5 percent in 2013 but this time
was wrested by BN, which gained 51.5 percent of the votes.

Why the swing among conservative Chinese voters to BN?

"It
could be a combination of voting along ethnic lines and also pragmatic
considerations," pollster Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian (left) told Malaysiakini.

This trend is consistent with the Kajang by-election in March which also
showed a swing in Chinese votes to BN when a change in the balance of
power is not a factor like in a general election and the “what's in it
for me” mindset takes precedent.

In terms of pragmatic considerations, Mah is a local-born boy whose
family has deep ties with the southern town and has served as a two-term
MP there since 1999 before being defeated by DAP in 2008.

Mah also made a clear offer to the people of Teluk Intan, among them
included obtaining a Unesco heritage recognition for the town's landmark
Menara Condong (leaning tower) and setting up a university.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's promise to make Mah a federal minister if he wins was equally if not more appealing.

Dyana's manifesto vague

In contrast, Dyana's manifesto had been vague and peppered with general
ideas such as empowering women and combating corruption, something that
could not resonate with an ageing electorate.

Commenting on this, Ibrahim said even DAP's social media campaign centred around Dyana's personality.

"It was not about what she wanted to do for Teluk Intan, the candidate was not really clear enough on her plans.

"The main lesson learnt is that voters cannot be taken for granted against an experienced candidate," he said.

Even though Chinese voters are the majority in Teluk Intan, these facts
cut across racial lines as DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng too
conceded that its support across all races fell.

While Lim may portray Dyana's defeat as a rejection of a Malay and a
woman, DAP's failure to present an attractive offer was a bigger factor.

"It is back to the drawing board for DAP on fielding a newbie, despite
the initial sentiments in their favour during the campaign, it
eventually wore off and Dyana was exposed to several criticism," said
Ibrahim.

An example was Dyana’s failure to come clean on her mother's status in
Malay rights group Perkasa which eventually came back to haunt her and
brought her honesty into question including her own status as a lawyer.

DAP also failed to effectively market its novel concept of having a
Malay candidate as it did in the Bukit Gelugor by-election which was
presented as a celebration of its late veteran MP Karpal Singh or PKR
marketing the Kajang by-election as the "Kanjang Move".

Ultimately, Ibrahim said voters chose experience over novelty.

PAS supporters upset over hudud

Would things be different had DAP fielded a local candidate?

Not necessarily, said Ibrahim, pointing out that the party's vote bank of outstation voters did not deliver.

In terms of machinery, Dyana as a parachute candidate did cause
resentment among DAP grassroots in the initial stages but this was
quickly overcome as the campaign went into full swing.

The focus lies with the PAS machinery, with a senior PAS leader conceding to Malaysiakini
that the party's hardcore members were upset at Dyana's anti-hudud
stance and refused to campaign for her in the Malay heartland.

This had eventually prompted PAS to rope in its president Abdul Hadi
Awang during the final dash of the campaigning to prop up Dyana.

However, Ibrahim said this was not a major factor, as many traditional
PAS members already voted against DAP in Teluk Intan in the last general
election.

He pointed out the two state seats Pasir Bedamar and Changkat Jong in
Teluk Intan had a collective majority of 11,919 votes in the favour of
the opposition but this was not translated at the parliamentary level
which only saw a 7,313-vote majority for DAP in 2013.

This, he said, suggested split voting, where supporters in Changkat Jong
had voted for PAS at the state level but voted against DAP at the
federal level, thus it would not have made much difference this time.

Coming out of this by-election, Gerakan is expected to be buoyed by its
mini-revival as it will join its peninsular counterpart MCA, whose
senators are already sworn in, to take up positions in the cabinet.- mk

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been called “a liar” by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng for slamming the party for campaigning in Teluk Intan last night, despite the death of Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak on Wednesday.Lim pointed out that BN in fact had events on Wednesday night and last night as well, and said Muhyiddin should not have stooped to such "low standards"."We didn't make an issue out of it when BN continued campaigning," said Lim, who is also Penang chief minister.He said Muhyiddin’s statement was an obvious attempt to play up racial sentiments against DAP, with less than 24 hours left before polling for the by-election in which DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud battles BN veteran Mah Siew Keong.“Why can BN campaign, but when Pakatan does it, it becomes wrong? This is so unbecoming of a DPM,” Lim said.He said that on Wednesday, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi went ahead with a programme while a ceramah was also conducted at a dinner organised by Gerakan that night.Yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan held a ceramah in front of a small crowd near the leaning tower, Lim further pointed out.DAP had halted all its activitiesDAP had halted all its activities after news of the sultan’s passing filtered in. It proceeded with a fundraising dinner, but did not have any ceramah.It also resumed active campaigning after the sultan’s burial yesterday evening, and its last ceramah yesterday night attracted at least 2,000 people.Lim also criticised BN candidate Mah Siew Keong for saying that outstation voters should not decide Teluk Intan’s fate.“Why are they outstation? Because there are no jobs in Teluk Intan. Whose fault is it in the first place?” he asked.He reminded Mah that outstation voters are still registered Teluk Intan voters and the fact they are coming back shows that they care about the constituency.- mk

Indian voters 'offered' land application forms...

A BN-friendly party has been accused of handing
out application forms for land to Indian voters in its drive to win
Indian support for BN in tomorrow's Teluk Intan by-election.

The forms are allegedly to have been distributed by the Indian
Progressive Front's (IPF) campaigners during their door-to-door visits.

Malaysiakini sighted the forms after being alerted by the DAP.

It requires those interested in joining the party to apply for the form
which states that this will also serve as an automatic application for a
piece of agricultural land under an 'Agriculture Planning' programme.

The application needs to be approved by the "IPF division chief" and then by the "IPF head office".

However, Malaysiakini has so far not been able to contact the party to verify this claim, or the authenticity of the documents.

Many Indians in this constituency are from former estate settlements, and most are now living in housing areas.

Land remains a major attraction for Indians in this constituency as
among the lesser-educated people, agriculture remains their best skill.

'Offer seen as joke'

DAP Sungkai assemblyperson A Sivanesan (right), who was a Perak executive councillor for housing and local government between 2008 and 2009, told Malaysiakini yesterday that to his knowledge, there is either very little or no land in Teluk Intan for giving away for agriculture.

A large portions of land in the constituency are owned by private
plantations, including Sime Darby Plantations and United Plantations.

United Plantattions also owns and manages the sprawling Ulu Bernam Estate.

However, the number of Indians in the estates have dwindled greatly over the years, with only a handful remaining.

DAP's Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar, who is handling the by-election
campaign in Indian areas, said the fact that the people were reporting
such offers proved that they no longer believe in the BN’s campaign
promises.

"If they believe (the offers), they wouldn't tell us about the things they have been promised," Sivakumar told Malaysiakini yesterday.

"The fact that they are revealing this shows that they are just laughing at this," he added. - mk

Two DAP women were today slapped and punched by a man who tried to stop
them from putting up DAP banners in Teluk Intan town today.

Bavani Veraiah (left in photo), Perak Pakatan Rakyat's executive secretary, and Leong Pooi Wan (right in photo), wife of DAP's Jalong assemblyperson, were attacked by a man whom they identify as a local MIC member at around 3pm today.

The man, who was accompanied by at least two other men who were wearing
plain clothes, hurled “vulgar and abusive” words in Tamil towards
Bavani, before slapping Leong’s phone to her face when she attempted to
record the exchange.

Right after that, Bavani was punched on her left cheekbone when she tried to call her DAP colleagues for help.

The duo have lodged a police report at the Hilir Perak district police
headquarters at 4.16pm today, and have also recorded a short video of
the incident before Leong was slapped.

The man in the video has been identified by fellow DAP members as a MIC member, though his full name and details remain unknown.

During a press conference on the incident, DAP national women’s chief
Chong Eng said that the police must investigate the matter immediately
as the man’s face is visible in the video.

“Now people are not very confident with the police. The police should prove that they can act fast on this matter,” she said.

Meanwhile, the party’s Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer also lodged a
police report today after his Facebook was allegedly hacked to put up a
posting which calls Malays “celaka” for “wasting millions” on the
burial of the Sultan of Perak.

He lodged the report at 1.35pm at the same police station.

Rayer has been caught in controversy ever since he called some Umno
members “celaka” during a Penang state assembly sitting recently,
leading to fiery protests by Umno Youth members at the state assembly,
at DAP headquarters and also at the Kuantan DAP office. - mk

BN event draws not more than 70Meanwhile, a BN finale ceramah is being held near the Teluk Intan
leaning tower, and has attracted not more than 70 people, leaving many
chairs empty.
The ceramah is being conducted with a massive backdrop saying ‘Undilah
BN untuk Masa Depan Teluk Intan’ (Vote for BN for Teluk Intan’s future).
Currently speaking is Lokman Noor Adam, who is with the Special Affair Department (Jasa) under the Communications Ministry.
The ceramah does not have any heavyweights listed as amongst its speakers.
The other speakers include Penang Gerakan Youth’s Rich Too, and former Kedah DAP vice-chairperson Tony Tan.10,000 fill up Jalan Mahkota squareAs polling day looms, a massive crowd has
turned up to attend DAP’s grand finale ceramah being held at Jalan
Mahkota square in Teluk Intan town.About
10,000 people have filled up the square to listen to Pakatan Rakyat
leaders speak, spilling over on the main road and some even watching
from sidewalks of shop lots nearby.
The massive crowd is expected to further expand as more senior DAP
leaders come later in the night, including candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd
Daud.
DAP's Seremban MP Anthony Loke tells the crowd to call all their friends
who are voters in Teluk Intan to return in numbers for tomorrow's
election.
Most of them are clad in red.
Polling starts at 8am tomorrow in 37 voting districts, for over 60,000 voters.

Indications that outstation voters are returning

A traffic jam more than 1kim long appears along
Jalan Changkot Jong, a sign that outstation voters are driving back to
Teluk Intan.

According to a local, such a traffic jam is abnormal for Friday night,
where the traffic came from Bidor and Sungkai after exiting the
North-South Expressway.

The Regent of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, 58, has been proclaimed the new Sultan of Perak.The announcement was made by Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja Gen (Rtd) Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin at the Balairong Seri (Throne Room) of the Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar today, before the remains of the late Sultan Azlan Shah were laid to rest.

According to Bernama, the decision on the appointment of Raja Nazrin was made by the Dewan Negara Perak at a special meeting yesterday.

Raja Nazrin is the eldest of five children of Sultan Azlan Shah. He is married to Zara Salim Davidson and they have two children.

Like his father, who was Lord President of the then-Supreme Court, Raja Nazrin, too, has an impressive resume.

He graduated from Worcester College, Oxford University, with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics and later did his master’s in public administration at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

He also has a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University.

The Perak royalty is unique in that the successor is not necessary, and often is not, the son of the late sultan.

Unique succession

However, Raja Nazrin's case is an exception after he was made Raja Muda of Perak in 1987, becoming the next in line when his father Azlan Shah was sultan.

According to the official Sultan Perak Office website, the new sultan is decided by the state’s Dewan Negara.

The Dewan Negara consists of six of the Perak titled Raja, Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and state mufti Harussani Zakaria.

It also comprises 10 other formal members and 11 non-formal members, including a non-Muslim, Darshan Singh Gill.

One day after a botched event in which over 100 "former DAP members"
failed to cross over to BN, Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan was in
no mood for questions.

So eager was Ahmad to avoid questions that he went out of his way to “flee” from Malaysiakini and KiniTV journalists waiting for him last night, even attempting to cross a drain to escape the press.

Last night's drama took place at about 10.40pm after Ahmad (left) had given a speech on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to some 50 people at Kampung Padang Tembak Dalam, Teluk Intan.

Earlier, as he was giving his speech, a man clad in a blue BN shirt approached the reporters and asked for their identities.

However, as soon as Malaysiakini was mentioned, the man
returned to his seat without another word, and was seen writing
something down on a small piece of paper.

He then passed this note to Ahmad, who was still delivering his speech.
The Pontian MP surprised the crowd by reading the note out loud: “Malaysiakini is recording (your) speech.”

Upon completing his speech and after taking group photographs with the
attendees, Ahmad was heard asking his assistant for the location of the
hall’s entrance, where the Malaysiakini and KiniTV reporters were waiting.

He then went straight to a nearby drain and tried to cross it to leave
the area. An assistant, who held a torchlight for Ahmad, then pointed
him towards the exit.

Ahmad quicky walked out, avoiding the camera and not responding to request for a question-and-answer session.

Surrounded by five assistants, he made his way speedily to his car, with the journalists running after him.

On Tuesday, Ahmad Maslan was present during a welcoming ceremony
organised for 150 DAP members who were to cross over to the ruling BN
coalition.

However, BN was left red faced when some of the “jumpers” expressed shock when informed of the purpose
of the event, with one taxi driver declaring herself a staunch DAP
supporter.

The event ended with journalists being forbidden to interview any of the
other attendees and were later informed that there would be no
switching of camps.- mk

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